Here is another great example of an oddball gimmick pipe.
My cursory internet research has revealed that the Underboar was part of the Charatan line, and production of the Underboar stopped after World War II. It has a plunger in the shank which scoops out goop when you pull out the stem. This is a guaranteed way to make a mess and in my opinion would be inferior to a simple, standard cleaning with a pipe cleaner.
Maybe the Underboar was a good pipe. I don't know. But when a well-known maker like Charatan has to resort some gimmick like this, it probably means they're trying to move some inferior pipes.
Charatans of that era were made from Algerian briar, which is considered inferior to Mediterranean briar by many, and requires a very careful and prolonged curing process to prepare the briar for pipe making (or so I have read).
I can't date this ad exactly, but it had to be sometime between 1920 and the end of World War II.
P.S. Sorry for the lateness of this post. I tried to post it early this morning but just kept getting error messages from Blogger.
Excellent post thank you! However, owning one of these Underboars myself, I can add that the briar and engineering of this pipe together with the original high quality stem combine to produce a rarely wonderful smoke. I own - or should I say, am owned - by over 100 Charatans from the golden ages and this is one of my very best smokers.
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